Thursday November 01, 2018

Starship Technologies launched what it claims to be the world's first robotic package delivery service. The company's ground-based robots already deliver food to some locations. But starting today, residents in Milton Keynes, UK will be able to open up an app on their phone, and get packages delivered wherever they want, whenever they want. While theft and vandalism are obvious concerns for ground based robots, the company is actually pitching security as one of the service's selling points, as customers don't have to worry about packages getting stolen at doorsteps. Check out a video of the robots in action below:

Package theft happens to 42% of city dwellers, 26% of suburbians, and 19% of people who live in rural areas. Starship's service gives consumers complete control over when their packages arrive so that packages are never left unattended. According to August's Home Package Theft Report, victims of package theft are spending on average $200+ to replace each package and a study by Shorr Packaging Corp found that 41% of respondents avoided purchasing online goods like electronics because they feared packages would be stolen. The new service will be available to residents in the Bay Area, California before the end of the year.